By State Representative Chris Miller (R-Oakland) -
Like Lucy promising to let Charlie Brown kick the football, career politicians in Springfield are again promising that this time will be the last time we have to raise taxes. We just have to "trust them…"
Pardon me, but haven’t we heard this one before?
In 1989, taxpayers were told that the newly established state income tax was going to be just a “temporary” tax. The income tax was made permanent in 1993. Halleluiah, our economic problems were solved!
Except they weren’t.
In 2011 in the dead of night, lawmakers approved a 67 percent income tax increase that was supposed to gradually be reduced over time. OK.
This time Springfield meant it. Senate President John Cullerton said at the time, "The purpose of this bill is to raise enough money so that we can continue to pay our pensions without borrowing the money. To pay off our debt. To have enough money to pay the interest on that debt. And, for the first time ever, establish caps on how much we can appropriate…”
Surely, our economic problems were solved now. The career politicians were so proud of themselves for having the “courage” to spend more of your hard-earned money. This surely would be the last time we needed to raise taxes in Illinois. Right?
In 2017, career politicians scrapped the idea of a gradually reduced income tax and again raised taxes by 32 percent and made the tax hike permanent.
It took awhile but in 2017 a bunch of “courageous” legislators had finally done it! They finally did what could not be done in 1989, 1993 and 2011. They had finally solved the state’s budget crisis! Surely this time would be the end tax increases in Illinois.
Nope.
Just this spring, the Democrat majority approved a Constitutional Amendment to create a progressive income tax in Illinois. They are promising that they are only going to tax the wealthiest taxpayers in Illinois and if voters would approve this Constitutional Amendment in the 2020 election, we could finally get Illinois back on track financially. They promise. This time will be the last time for tax increases. They even went so far as to pass a bill (that can be changed at any time) to set the Progressive Income Tax rates. They mean business this time.
No one should believe these lies. Time and time again, Illinois residents have seen their taxes go up on the promise that the latest tax hike scheme would solve the State’s financial problems once and for all. And time and time again, we have seen those false promises exposed for the lies they are.
If Illinois residents approve the Governor’s progressive income tax hike scheme, there is no end in sight to how high our taxes will go.
Every state that has a progressive income tax ends up raising taxes on middle class families. Sure, the rhetoric sounds great. Tax the wealthiest Illinois residents. Make them pay!
But the reality of a progressive income tax is that over time every income tax bracket ends up seeing tax increases over time. It is easy for career politicians to raise one income tax bracket one year and focus on another bracket the next year. It is much harder to raise everyone’s taxes all at once than it is to raise just some taxpayers’ taxes one income bracket at a time.
Giving more of our hard-earned money to Springfield has only achieved one result – more spending. The last thing we need to do is give career politicians in Springfield more of our money to spend. We must stand firm and oppose the Progressive Income Tax.
Governor Pritzker is holding the football waiting to pull it away as soon as we try to kick it. Let’s not be Charlie Brown and fall for the ruse. Let’s reject the tax hike at the ballot and refuse to play the Governor’s deceptive games.
State Rep. Chris Miller of Oakland, Illinois, is serving his first term as Illinois House member from the 110th District. Before elected, Rep. Miller was a grain and cattle farmer for 40 years.
